Navigation researchers are recognized at the AONN+ Annual Conference for outstanding contributions to the field and to the navigation literature. It is our pleasure to present the 2022 Exceptional Research in Navigation Award winners!
Care Coordination/Care Transitions
For outstanding work in the category of Care Coordination/Care Transitions, AONN+ recognizes Carla Strom, Emily Copus, Alexis Daniels, Ashley Gonzalez, and Ronny Bell of the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center and Jane Smart of the American Cancer Society.
These researchers collaborated to evaluate a patient navigation program for underserved patients and improve efforts to better address the patients’ structural and logistical barriers to care.
For the award-winning research abstract:
Partnering to Improve Access to Cancer Care for Diverse Underserved Patients
Patient Advocacy/Patient Empowerment
In the category of Patient Advocacy/Patient Empowerment, AONN+ acknowledges the outstanding work of Jamil Rivers of The Chrysalis Initiative; Tiah Tomlin-Harris of My Style Matters, Inc; Monique Gary of Grand View Health; and Arin Ahlum Hanson, Catherine Ormerod, Janine Guglielmino, and Stefanie Washburn of Living Beyond Breast Cancer.
These researchers presented their findings from a study to address the unique experiences of Black women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, with the overarching purpose to address healthcare disparities among Black people.
For the award-winning research abstract:
Knowledge Is Power: Designing an Educational Program to Support Black Breast Cancer Patients
Psychosocial Support, Assessment
For outstanding work in the category of Psychosocial Support, Assessment, AONN+ recognizes Jose Irizarry, Charity Zayas, Cenizia Baid, Diana Labrador, Claudia Blandon, Morgan Nestingen, Tania Silva Santos, Barbie Quintana, and Marguerite Rowell of the Miami Cancer Institute.
These researchers implemented a rapid-cycle Plan-Do-Study-Act project to increase distress screening compliance rates by capitalizing on the clinical knowledge of oncology nurse navigators and aligning screening with initial navigation assessment, improve the navigator’s ability to address barriers to care, and ensure timely referral to psychosocial support services.
For the award-winning research abstract:
Professional Roles and Responsibilities
The 2022 Exceptional Research in Navigation Award in the category of Professional Roles and Responsiblities was presented to Tania Silva Santos, Barbara Quintana, Morgan Nestingen, and Marguerite Rowell of the Miami Cancer Institute.
These navigators increased navigator engagement and retention by empowering staff to design a career advancement program for the oncology nurse navigator and oncology patient navigator roles at their institution.
For the award-winning research abstract:
Research, Quality, Performance Improvement
Jennifer Mulholland and Katie Barrett of St. Elizabeth Healthcare Cancer Center were awarded the 2022 Exceptional Research in Navigation Award for their work in the category of Research, Quality, Performance Improvement.
These researchers created evidence-based clinical pathways to improve patient throughput, leveraging the oncology nurse navigators to implement best practices related to care coordination needs for patients with suspected or newly diagnosed lung cancer to decrease time to treatment initiation.
For the award-winning research abstract:
Oncology Nurse Navigators: Taking Charge and Forging New Pathways to Reduce Time to Treatment
Operations Management, Organizational Development, Health Economics
For outstanding work in the category of Operations Management, Organizational Development, Health Economics, AONN+ recognizes Elizabeth Wigozki, Kaitlen Reyes, and Laura Ma of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
These researchers standardized COVID-19 assessments of patients via telephone and streamlined communication and documentation within multidisciplinary teams across the institute.
For the award-winning research abstract:
Optimization of Nursing Informatics to Enhance Navigation Practice During COVID-19 Pandemic
